STEP ONE:Tell everyone you know you’re going away for three months, preferably six. When they ask where, tell them somewhere with no internet or phone signal or pets (see Step Two).

A room by the water in the Norwegian fjords should do the trick…

Or a cabin in the mountains just five minutes away.

STEP TWO:If your cat does insist on coming with you, make sure you also take an external hard drive (you have no internet, remember) and Save Save Save. That way you won’t panic when dear Catkins dashes across your keyboard and hits the delete key. So what if your entire manuscript just vanished before your eyes? Who cares? Not Catkins. He’s calculated with at least five lives left, he’s got nothing to lose: if he can wrap presents, he can help you…

Write Your Book.

STEP THREE:So far, so good. But a few weeks in, you sit down to write and you freeze. You stare at the screen and you hate what you read. Oh no, this isn’t happening, not now. You pace the room like a caged beast ranting to yourself. You’ve lost your mind Call yourself a writer? You can’t write. You’re an imposter and your writing’s crap. Your mind’s a jumble of no good for nothing. Yes, that’s right…

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About Sherri Matthews

While writing to publication of her memoir, 'Stranger in a White Dress', Sherri has been published in national magazines and a variety of anthologies in memoir, essays, articles, poetry and flash fiction. Sherri gardens, walks and takes endless photos, the better ones she shares on her blog, along with articles about travel, Asperger's Syndrome and her life as a Brit Mum raising her family in California for 17 years. Today, Sherri lives in England with her husband, Aspie youngest and their pet menagerie, fondly known as 'Animal Farm.'

Thank you so much for this! Very encouraging as I write my first… I settle for a weekend getaway once in a while but I’ve been fantasizing months at a time! Looking forward to following your journey here and I thanked Andrea for sending me your way.

How lovely, Bonnie…I too thank our lovely mutual friend Andrea for sending you over to the Summerhouse, delighted to meet you! So glad for your encouragement…and oh I join you in that fantasy! I’m working to bring my first book, a memoir, to completion for publication, six years in the writing. Here’s to us both journeying onward to our goals, and I wish you every success along the way 🙂

I’m slogging on it, every day! Aww..thank you so much, Norah…your message warms the cockles of my heart, truly. Your unwavering support and encouragement helps keep me hanging in there, whether by a thread or a string of fairy gnome lights 😀 And of course,always a healthy dose of SMAG! 🙂 ❤

I still haven’t done my post about the fjords…seems like a distant dream though ‘only’ 6 months ago…but yeah, me too, it seemed to me the perfect place in which to escape for writing inspiration and uncluttered days. And so we dream 🙂 Thank you, Ste!

Dearest Sherri, this is great. You made me chuckle, plus I feel great affinity with what you are saying. I think a Norwegian fjord would do me very nicely just now. Looking forward to seeing you soon and plugging into your positivity. Lots of love, hugs and kisses xxxxxxxx

Let’s go!! I’m thrilled you found this positive and uplifting and it gave you a chuckle, dearest Sarah and yes, indeed, will be lovely to see you again very soon! Lots of love, hugs and kisses back to you! 🙂 xxxxxxxxx

Ahh…now that would be amazing, Charli! If I had placed a bigger bet on the Grand National (I picked the winner, 2nd and fourth place, ’tis all true!) believe you me, we would be going right now and Catkins would be with us, first class all the way, naturally! Haha…I was thinking of you with the external hard drive… 😉 My prize no matter what placing is knowing it made you laugh…that’s the best…that and the idea of us rocking out to some real heavy metal in a Scandi bar drinking Viking beer somewhere in the middle of nowhere 😀 😀 ❤